Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In Development: The Village of Aurilia
SproBeGrga
Sat Jul 17, 2004 9:21 am
#313
Kal_Silas wrote:Personally, I think that the village is a great idea. It seems like a very nice way to -finally- incorporate a bit of role play into the Jedi classes. Bravo and kudos to whoever thought up the idea!On the other hand, why must you insist on making the initial path to Force Sensitivity a secret? The time for that has passed, and even in the previous incarnation, there was nothing overly enigmatic about knowing that you had to grind classes ad nauseum. Certainly, you didn't know exactly which classes you needed to master, and if this new system is that kind of secret, then I'm fine with it, however making us jump through hoops in the hopes of stumbling into the correct Path is not only wholly unnecessary, it is somewhat cruel.After a year of playing this game, of suffering through various blatant bugs, broken promises, imbalances, and injustices, one would think that you would be a little more generous to your established player base. Yes, I understand that there is a need to keep the Jedi population in check, and trust me, I wholeheartedly support that notion. However, forcing those of us who wish to play a Jedi but did not choose to submit to the Hologrind craze to now plod blindly along goes beyond all reason.Why not make the Path known? Make the quests challenging. Make there be a need for sacrifices. Find some way to make the player show that they understand what the Force is, and what the Jedi are supposed to be about. Have a way to have Vader's henchmen apprehend and place Jedi in the Imperial Detention Facility which then requires the help of outsiders and non-Force Sensitives to rescue them. Something. Anything other than yet another "mysterious" path. There has to be a more reasonable way to control Jedi other than to dangling yet another carrot in front of our faces for an indeterminate amount of time.Do not mistake me when I say this, you have a prime opportunity to steer this game in a better direction. You could take this notion of mystery and chuck it out the window. Replace it with a series of quests that, while difficult, are extremely educational to the prospective Jedi. This affords you the opportunity to find the "right" kind of player to be a Jedi and not necessary only the powergamer who is only interested in building a perfect killing machine.The problem is not that there are too many Jedi, it is that there is no sufficient reason to NOT play a Jedi. A few well-armed bounty hunters, or hostile NPC's are not enough. You need to devise something that makes the other classes an attractive alternative. The Jedi in this time period need to be shown that remaining in hiding is not just smart, it must be the only way to survive. The sad truth is that no matter who much I long to be a Jedi, at the moment they are for the most part reduced to a motley assortment of lightsaber-wielding thugs. For the sake of all that is good and Holy, please work to change this.Perhaps the most troubling thing about this new system, Thunderheart, is that we have no way of knowing if the Devs are truly being honest with us. While I do not wish to be even remotely negative, you have to understand that a lot of us have experienced SWG's unfortunate tendency to leave things undone or put off until some far-away and often nebulous date. The proposed system may not be active for many months until the decision is made to allow more Jedi to be played. The system might be changed to change the population at a whim. The system works against the notion of "fun" that you and other developers have so often espoused to us, your gaming population.As I said in one my other only real post ever in this forum, you have to also consider that not everyone has the same amount of time to play this game. No matter how much I wish it were otherwise, I can not simply wave a wand and make my financial obligations go away. Work is a nasty necessity of life, and that precludes have limitless game time. A hidden Path, by nature, will require a substantial time investment to fulfil. Please do not punish those of us who wish to be Jedi but do not have nigh-infinite free time.I'm sorry about the length of this post, and for the fact that it turned out to be very "ranty" in the end. Having been a life-long Star Wars fan, not only is this a game that I am passionate about, but the subject of Jedi and the Force is one that is very near and dear to my heart. I truly hope that I have simply misunderstood your post, and that I am reading too much into what you've said. Time will tell.Help us, Thunderheart, you're our only hope.May the Force be with you.
I agree with this post in EVERY point!!
Help us, Thunderheart, you're our only hope.
Kind regards
Jvani
Sat Jul 17, 2004 10:36 am
#314
TH - Are you saying what I think you're saying?!
They way you say "just play the game" has me a tad worried.
That might have been fine if it were that way from the beginning but now, after giving up profession after profession I must still wander around doing random stuff until I hit some secret thing or magic number of quests+playtime+badges+professions+faction+whoknowswhatelse before the mysterious stranger appears?
What about those people like my Bounty Hunter hubby who quit in disgust when their holo said "master image designer?" He would come back if there was a directed quest path, but not if he has to wander around aimlessly wondering what to do for another 6 months to a year.
In general, difficult/time consuming is fine with MMO players, stabbing in the dark is NOT when you want to achieve something in a game. Its funny that MMO's evolved from roleplaying games but roleplay does not keep the subscribers nearly as much as getting that next "carrot," that next skill, level, or piece of equipment for your character.
Im betting you will have many annoyed people if those mysterious strangers dont start appearing soon for anyone who has even read a holo or now goes to visit the village to indicate they would *like* to be on the path to force sensitivity.
The quest journal would be a fabulous edition.
-Jv
They way you say "just play the game" has me a tad worried.
That might have been fine if it were that way from the beginning but now, after giving up profession after profession I must still wander around doing random stuff until I hit some secret thing or magic number of quests+playtime+badges+professions+faction+whoknowswhatelse before the mysterious stranger appears?
What about those people like my Bounty Hunter hubby who quit in disgust when their holo said "master image designer?" He would come back if there was a directed quest path, but not if he has to wander around aimlessly wondering what to do for another 6 months to a year.
In general, difficult/time consuming is fine with MMO players, stabbing in the dark is NOT when you want to achieve something in a game. Its funny that MMO's evolved from roleplaying games but roleplay does not keep the subscribers nearly as much as getting that next "carrot," that next skill, level, or piece of equipment for your character.
Im betting you will have many annoyed people if those mysterious strangers dont start appearing soon for anyone who has even read a holo or now goes to visit the village to indicate they would *like* to be on the path to force sensitivity.
The quest journal would be a fabulous edition.
-Jv
FlashAdam
Sat Jul 17, 2004 10:47 am
#315
Like both the ideas TH.
One small thing slightly off topic. After force sensitivity would be nice for the padawan trials to involve a ghost of a jedi master to guide you.
This could be stored in your datapad and work with similar mechanics to the recently added "new proffesion" starter droids.
VemaGara
Sat Jul 17, 2004 11:00 am
#316
Mixed.
Like: general idea
Disklike: a village packed with questing PC's all wanting to become Jedi
I rather prefer that force teachers have special icons over their heads that are only viewable by force sensitives. These people stand all over the galaxy. In this way, those seeking force advancement scatter across the servers, rather than bunch up.
Like: general idea
Disklike: a village packed with questing PC's all wanting to become Jedi
I rather prefer that force teachers have special icons over their heads that are only viewable by force sensitives. These people stand all over the galaxy. In this way, those seeking force advancement scatter across the servers, rather than bunch up.
Rrowann
Sat Jul 17, 2004 11:38 am
#319
Journal? Neat! Can we make it so I can actually write in it and add my own chroniclesby any chance? A badge based on that would be a darn cool badge to earn.
*runs back to writing for Moya's story competition*
Rrowann
Sat Jul 17, 2004 11:45 am
#320
I loooooooooooove the sounds of it, but I wonder still -- will there be quests for non-combatants / non-artisans?
eaManwe
Sat Jul 17, 2004 11:47 am
#321
Cebre_Opasloa wrote:
I've looked at the galactic map on nav-computer.com, where is the Meridian sector? not seeing it...
Look at Insert 3! 
Cartouche
Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:51 pm
#325
If a path or series of events is a trigger here, I'd like for there to be a hint as to the mechanics of these events. What does it involve? Do PvP or PvE in any way trigger it? Will this be doable for all professions or will crafters/entertainers have to be combat involved to some extent? What I'm saying is, show us the door, open it, and let US find the light switch.
I'll second that. Without going into the details of the system, is there a general "guiding principle" that you could let us know about?